Friend's wedding was motivation to shed pounds

Lesley Young/Special to The Commercial Appeal
Tracy Patterson lost 30 pounds since mid-January by using the Weight Watchers app, seeing a personal trainer for strength and functional training twice a week, and doing cardio exercises a few nights a week.

A wedding was all the motivation Tracy Patterson needed to shed her extra weight.

Not her wedding, but a friend's.

"One of my best friends from Rhodes got engaged to be remarried last year, and they set the date at Christmas for May," said Patterson, 50. "When I realized that I was going to be a bridesmaid and be photographed from every single angle possible, I was terrified."

In mid-January, the single mother returned to Weight Watchers, but this go-round she used a format that fit her busy lifestyle.

"I travel a lot with my job, so I don't have time to go to meetings," said Patterson, alumni director for Rhodes College. "I got the online app so I could do it from my phone. It's been wonderful."

She also increased her visits to the gym and exercising on the cardio equipment, including the treadmill and the elliptical, to two or three times a week from two or three times a month.

In the midst of her challenge to become a fit bridesmaid, she got a message from an old friend who happens to be a personal trainer.

"He asked if I wanted to work out with him, and I said yes," Patterson said.

From mid-March on, Patterson began meeting with her friend, Larry Wilons, known as "LT," twice a week for an hour of grueling strength and functional training.

"Sometimes, I would get a text promising me he was going to work me out really hard," Patterson said. "It was energizing."

She used TRX equipment, the ViPR weighted rubber training tube, kettlebells, and the TRX Rip Trainer.

"After an hour I would be completely disgusting," Patterson said.

She still runs or trains on the elliptical a few nights a week for a five-day-a-week workout regimen.

So far, she has lost 30 pounds and feels bridesmaid-perfect.

"I feel ready. I feel more confident overall," she said. "My energy has really increased. I sleep a lot better at night."

She's not resting on her laurels once the wedding is said and done this week.

"Every year, there's a homecoming at Rhodes, so every year it's like a new reunion for me because I see someone I haven't seen in a long time. The next one is in October, so I'd like to lose another 10 pounds," she said.

"I'm a single mother with two kids. I travel all the time and have what I would call a demanding job. If I can do it, other people can do it too."

Have you lost weight and kept it off, adopted better eating habits, started exercising or had success living a more healthful lifestyle? E-mail your story to sunyata00@gmail.com.